This was the television schedule on all three networks for the fall season beginning in September 1962.
Television historians Harry Castleman and Walter Podrazik (1982) state, "Despite all the promises of programming reform made by television executives in May, 1961, the 1962-1963 schedule turned out to be business as usual". Castleman and Podrazik point out that although the three networks had added generally well-made public-affairs and news programs to their schedules, there were "too many of them and their sheer number diluted the audience and stretched resources far too thin to allow quality productions each week".[1] CBS aired CBS Reports and Eyewitness, NBC broadcast Chet Huntley Reporting and David Brinkley's Journal, while ABC had Bell and Howell Close-up and the Howard K. Smith show.[1]
New fall series are highlighted in bold. All times are Eastern and Pacific. The highest-rated show for the year is colored in gold, while the two second-highest appear in silver. Uniquely for this season there were two second-place series, as there was a tie.[2] Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its (rank/rating) as determined by Nielsen Media Research. [3]
Contents |
PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Father Knows Best (repeats) | The Jetsons | Hollywood Special | The Voice of Firestone | Howard K. Smith: News and Comment | |||
CBS | Lassie (23.3 rating, #21) | Dennis the Menace | The Ed Sullivan Show (25.3 rating, #14) | The Real McCoys | General Electric True | Candid Camera (31.1 rating, #2) | What's My Line? (25.6 rating, #13) | |
NBC | Ensign O'Toole | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (22.3 rating, #24) | Car 54, Where Are You? | Bonanza (29.8 rating, #4) | The Du Pont Show of the Week |
PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Local | Cheyenne | The Rifleman | Stoney Burke | Ben Casey (28.7 rating, #7) | ||||
CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Walter Cronkite with the News* | To Tell the Truth (23.3 rating, #20) | I've Got a Secret (24.9 rating, #16) | The Lucy Show (29.8 rating, #5) | The Danny Thomas Show (28.7 rating, #8) | The Andy Griffith Show (29.7 rating, #6) | The New Loretta Young Show | Stump the Stars | |
NBC | 7:00 Local / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report* | It's a Man's World | Saints and Sinners | The Price is Right | David Brinkley's Journal | Local |
PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Local | Combat! | Hawaiian Eye | The Untouchables | Bell and Howell Closeup | |||
CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Walter Cronkite with the News | Marshal Dillon (Gunsmoke repeats) | The Lloyd Bridges Show | The Red Skelton Hour (31.1 rating, #3) | The Jack Benny Program (26.2 rating, #12) | The Garry Moore Show (23.3 rating, #19) | ||
NBC | 7:00 Local / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | Laramie | Empire | The Dick Powell Show | Chet Huntley Reporting |
PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Local | Wagon Train (22.0 rating, #25) | Going My Way | Our Man Higgins | Naked City | |||
CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Walter Cronkite with the News | CBS Reports | The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | The Beverly Hillbillies (36.0 rating, #1) | The Dick Van Dyke Show (27.1 rating, #9) | Armstrong Circle Theatre/ The United States Steel Hour |
||
NBC | 7:00 Local / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | The Virginian (21.7 rating, #26) | Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | The Eleventh Hour |
PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Local | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | The Donna Reed Show | Leave It to Beaver | My Three Sons (21.0 rating, #28) | McHale's Navy | Alcoa Premiere | |
CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Walter Cronkite with the News | Mr. Ed | Perry Mason (22.4 rating, #23) | The Nurses | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | |||
NBC | 7:00 Local / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | The Wide Country | Dr. Kildare (26.2 rating, #11) | Hazel (25.1 rating, #15) | The Andy Williams Show |
PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Local | The Gallant Men | The Flintstones (20.5 rating, #30) | I'm Dickens, He's Fenster | 77 Sunset Strip | Local | ||
CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Walter Cronkite with the News | Rawhide (22.8 rating, #22) | Route 66 (21.3 rating, #27) | Fair Exchange | Eyewitness | |||
NBC | 7:00 Local / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | International Showtime | Sing Along with Mitch | Don't Call Me Charlie! | The Jack Paar Program |
On CBS, season four of The Twilight Zone aired at 9:30 during mid-season, replacing Fair Exchange.
PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Beany and Cecil | The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | The Lawrence Welk Show | 10:00 The Fight of the Week / 10:45 Make That Spare | |||
CBS | Local | Jackie Gleason and his American Scene Magazine (24.1 rating, #17) | The Defenders (23.9 rating, #18) | Have Gun – Will Travel (20.8 rating, #29) | Gunsmoke (27.0 rating, #10) | |||
NBC | Local | Sam Benedict | The Joey Bishop Show | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies |
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